Alison Weir (historian)
| Alison Weir | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alison Matthews 8 July 1951 London, England |
| Occupation | Author, historian |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | City of London School for Girls |
| Alma mater | University of North London |
| Genre | History British monarchy |
| Spouse | Rankin Weir (m. 1972) |
| Children | John (b. 1982) Kate (b. 1984) |
| Website | |
| alisonweir |
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Alison Weir (born 8 July 1951) is a British writer of history books, and latterly historical novels, mostly in the form of biographies about British royalty.
Her first published work, 1989's Britain's Royal Families, was a genealogical overview of the British royal family. She subsequently wrote biographies of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Katherine Swynford, and the Princes in the Tower. Other focuses have included Henry VIII of England and his wives and children, Mary Boleyn, Elizabeth I, and Mary, Queen of Scots. She has published historical overviews of the Wars of the Roses and royal weddings, as well as historical fiction novels on Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth I, and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Weir was born and raised in central London. She has described her mother as "a genuinely good person with heaps of integrity, strength of character, humour and wisdom, and has overcome life’s trials with commendable fortitude."
Weir became interested in the field of history at the age of 14 after reading a book about Catherine of Aragon.
She was educated at City of London School for Girls and North Western Polytechnic and hoped to become a history teacher. She opted to abandon history as a career after becoming disillusioned with "trendy teaching methods". She married Rankin Weir in 1972, with whom she had two children in the early 1980s. Weir worked as a civil servant, and later as a housewife and mother to her children. Between 1991 and 1997, she ran a school for children with learning disabilities.
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